Casio PX 160 in-depth analysis and opinion

The Casio PX 160 (Privia) is an 88-key digital piano that over time has made a niche for itself among people accustomed to CASIO keyboards.It is probably the most balanced option in your price range. All the others stand out in some aspects and limp in others. But the Casio PX 160 simply has an “OK” in everything.  In comparison with the Roland FP 30 for example wins in loudspeakers but loses in line output…

Where to Buy Casio PX 160 Privia?

Amazon

  • Free Shipping and possibility of shipping in one day with Amazon Premium.
  • Full Guarantee but they are no experts in music equipment
  • Leader in fast shipments.
  • Price that change a lot daily.
  • The best option in USA and worldwide.

Thomann

  • Free Shipping.
  • Full warranty. If you have any problems, they take care of everything.
  • 100% reliable payment.
  • Leader in trouble-free shipping.
  • Usually Best Price.
  • Best Reputation: They are the leading online store in Europe and have the best catalogue and information.

It is an entry-level piano keyboard (from keyboards that are already considered piano keyboards) and is designed to be very portable and comes with sufficient features to be used in any situation. It keeps a very low price and competes directly with the Yamaha P125 and the Roland FP 30.

If you want something cheaper but a Hammer Action piano with a sensitive keyboard you have to go to Casio CDP 130 or Yamaha P45. But for a few more euros you have this Casio that has better polyphony, supports triple pedalboard and has line output to connect to any amplification equipment without needing any extra.

We would like to take this opportunity to tell you that it makes no sense to compare the Casio PX 160 vs. the Yamaha P45 or the Casio CDP 130. It is better and therefore a little more expensive but not much more. The Casio CDP 130 competes directly with the Yamaha P45 although lately we have come to see it for up to 200 euros. A very powerful offer.

I’m sure you’ll be interested in…

Sound of the Casio PX 160.

This piano keyboard from Casio has a polyphonic memory of 128 notes. The polyphony is the amount of notes that can sound at a time and this includes accompaniments.

You can do layering which is to make two sounds sound at the same time, this consumes twice as much polyphony. A very typical combination is a piano sound and a strings accompaniment at the same time.

As you probably already know, apart from polyphonic memory, another factor that determines the sound of a digital piano is the technology with which the piano sounds were recorded. It is called sampling and in this case uses the CASIO Multi-dimensional Morphing AiR technology.

It brings 18 high quality sounds. With various piano sounds recorded in different situations. Such as the Concert Grand or the Classic Grand. It also has organ sound that can be used in funk and jazz. Here you can hear the sounds Concert Piano, Modern piano and a baroque instrument such as the Clavichord.

It also brings acceptable reverb, chorus and brightness effects but without great variety.We can conclude that it has a polyphonic memory of 128 voices that is not bad at all and the sampling also guarantees a good sound in the price range that we move.

What is below 600 € and even many times below 500 €.If you want to hear more of the available sounds, listen to the following video for a more general review:

Sound Effects

Like most digital pianos in this range you can customize aspects of the sound and save your settings. You can modify the following aspects:

  • Reverberation: Emulate for example if you are playing in a place like a church. It has 4 levels.
  • Chorus: Up to 4 levels
  • Brightness: Allows you to define a more mellow or metallic sound depending on the chosen level.
  • You can also choose the temperament you like that refers to how pianos of certain times sounded.
  • You can also emulate the sound produced by a piano when you stop stepping on the pedal. This is the damper noise. But come on, it is already being very fine.

Interface

The Casio PX 160 has a very intuitive and elegant interface. In this one, Casio has made a remarkable effort and to think that Casio are not able to make good quality keyboards. They make them and they are of the best, in this Roland and Kawai have better image but it is not at all true.

interfaz_casio_px_160

Velocity sensitivity y Hammer Action

As you know, the sensitivity of the key is very important. For the louder we press a key the louder the note will sound.

That is the sensitivity and then there is the Hammer Action that mimics the weight of a real piano key. In this case there are three sensibilities.In this case the Scaled Hammer Action II is used. So it has weighted keys. Not bad for an entry-level digital piano but there are other keyboards for the same price with more sensitivities.

Portability

In this point it stands out very much. It only weighs 11 Kg, when other piano keyboards in the same range usually weigh 12 Kg or 14. This is important if you move it regularly without a car.

Connectivity and speakers

It has L/R output, so it is good for playing as a stage piano and connecting to any amplification equipment without an audio power box.

salida_linea_casio_px_160

In this sense it is also very complete. It has output for two headphones so that they can study teacher and student, in silence.It includes a sustain pedal SP3 (a little basic but like all of this range) and what is more important, it admits triple pedalboard that is important for the study of the classic in the conservatory from medium degree.

The sustain pedal is a basic interpretative resource to keep the note ringing even if the key of the corresponding note is released.It has USB MIDI (cheaper cable), so we can connect it to the computer and record MIDI tracks in any music editing program such as CUBASE, SIbelius, Ableton that we can then export to score.

usb_midi_casio_px_160

Extras

It has a music sheet holder that fits in the piano and also comes with the mains adapter.It can record a track and has USB port to save the files.It also has the following typical functionalities in this type of keyboards:Layers that allow two tones to sound at the same time.

Split: In one half an electric bass sounds and in the other the piano sound you want.

Of course it takes very customizable metronome and allows to divide the piano in two to interpret the duo or the teacher.The Casio PX 160 has tough competitors in Yamaha and Roland. We will compare it to two models that are similarly priced:

Casio PX160 vs Yamaha P115 vs Yamaha P125

The Yamaha P125 and its previous model the Yamaha P115 are probably the hardest of the competitors of the Casio PX 160. It should be noted that the Yamaha P125 and the P115 only differ in that the new P125 brings 10 more piano sounds for the same price that was before the Yamaha P125.

The Casio PX 160 is usually cheaper than the Yamaha P125. Both are similar range piano keyboards with 88 keys and Hammer Action keyboard but the polyphony of the Yamaha 125 is 192 versus the maximum polyphony of 128 of the Casio PX 160.

The Yamaha P125 has a Hammer Action with the GHS system of 4 sensitivities versus the 3 sensitivities of the CASIO PX 160.Both support optional triple bottom bracket and come with sustain pedal.The P125 has a sound boost, a kind of turbo for live.

The Casio has more powerful 8W speakers compared to the 7W of the Yamaha P125.It is not easy to decide but for the small price difference the Yamaha P125 has a sound that we like better. Below you will see the prices on Amazon but we recommend that you take a look at our review on the Yamaha P125.

Casio PX 160 vs Roland FP 30

Roland FP 30 is Roland’s choice to compete with the Casio PX 160In this case the polyphony of both is the same, 128 voices.

So this would not be a reason to spend a little more.They are quite similar in the performances they bring but the Roland FP 30 has a Hammer Action system with 5 different sensitivities.

The touch is better with what if for a classical student better the Roland FP 30.The Casio PX 160 is the standard price, but you can change your mind if you appreciate that the Roland FP 30 has a built-in microphone.

This allows you to play and sing at the same time, so you can quickly record a demo to share with other musicians on a flash drive.The Roland wins on its super-powered 11W speakers over the Casio Px 160’s 8W. This means you can play in many places without needing an extra amplifier.Do not hesitate to see our analysis of Roland FP 30.

Where to buy the piano keyboard Casio PX 160?

As you have seen above we have advanced this answer in some explanatory tables. Today these piano keyboards can be found at the best prices by shopping online.

If you live at USA or America always check at your local Amazon website. If you live at Europe always check Thomann. Here the direct links of the product:

For a similar price you have the following pianos and keyboards:

Did you like this article?

>>>>>>>>>>

Jaime Echagüe

Hi! I'm Jaime Echagüe, a musician and an authentic fan of musical instruments. With this blog I want to give general information about musical instruments in an easy, direct and honest way. I hope you enjoy my website and that you find it very useful.

Click Here to Leave a Comment Below